


Lost and Found

by reen212000



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 02:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reen212000/pseuds/reen212000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When his injured and stubborn CO miraculously turns up at the Alpha site, Lieutenant Meade finds out first-hand why John Sheppard is so deeply respected by his men.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> I love archiving. Here is a missing scene from Need You Around written a while back. And Meade likely got a promotion. LOL Details... details...

Lieutenant Lawrence Meade walked around the looming Stargate once more. It was weird; he felt like something was about to happen all day.

Being assigned to guard the Alpha site wasn’t his favorite job, but it allowed him to catch up on his sleep. He suspected that’s why their CO rotated them so often. A week with uninterrupted sleep did a soldier good.

As Meade left, he heard about Colonel Sheppard’s disappearance. Bad luck seemed to follow the zoomie, but Sheppard always found his way back. This time, Lawrence wasn’t sure the man would be back. He had been taken off-world, but no one knew by whom.

Suddenly, the ‘gate came to life. Meade signaled Creighton and Flores to take up their positions with the flick of his fingers. Quickly, he radioed the site, knowing they would take their defensive positions also. The colonel had been very specific about the layout of the site and which positions the small detail would take. Sheppard had even conferred with the Satedan on strategy. 

Meade took his position at a safe distance just behind the ‘gate. If anyone came through, they would be caught off guard; only Creighton was visible from the ramp.

A disheveled man stumbled through, arms swinging loosely at his sides.

“Halt! State your– Sir!” Meade was stunned out of position, but never lowered his gun. The man in tattered BDUs was indeed his CO. “Colonel Sheppard?”

The man was soaking wet, and whiter than a sheet. His wet clothes clung to his body, emphasizing Sheppard’s thinness. The man was never the appropriate weight for his height, in Meade’s opinion. But the colonel was quick, and stronger than he looked.

Sheppard continued down the slight ramp unsteadily. The whole right side of his face and body was stained with blood; a bone threatened to escape his right arm completely. “Why are you out of position, Lieutenant?”

Meade blinked at the question. He was pretty sure he understood what his CO said, but his grasp of Ancient was slippery. “Sorry, sir. You surprised me.”

The colonel snorted, mumbling to himself. Meade was pretty sure the next string of words were in Kurdish, not Ancient. “Creighton, I need you to contact Atlantis–”

Sheppard whirled unsteadily at the mention of their home. “What do you know about Atlantis?” 

Meade had heard of the colonel’s temper, but had never been nailed to the spot by a glare. Those hard green eyes dressed him down quickly; he felt like his Pop was right there in front of him. With a shudder, the lieutenant approached his CO. “Sir? I’m going to take you to the med tent. The corporal here is gonna phone home for us.”

The glassy eyes softened, and Sheppard’s posture melted. “Home?”

“Yes, sir. We’ll take good care of you right now, so Doc Keller doesn’t yell too much at us.”

Sheppard nodded. “She’s mean sometimes. Always wants to poke me fulla holes.”

“I think she likes to do that to everyone, sir.” Meade touched the colonel’s shoulder, barely prepared for the blind left hook. But Sheppard could barely make a fist, and Meade caught his hand before the punch landed. Then he saw it: Sheppard’s left arm was broken too.

“Don’t touch me,” Sheppard said, voice low and threatening.

Meade was surprised the man didn’t cry out in pain when he captured Sheppard’s arm. He knew the colonel had a very high pain tolerance, but something wasn’t right. Raising his hands to calm Sheppard, the lieutenant motioned forward. “All right, sir. Why don’t we take this path to the med tent.”

“I know where it is, Lieutenant.” Sheppard planted one foot in front of the other, wavering off course often. The fifteen minute walk took almost a half hour; Meade had to convince his CO that no one was following them.

Corporal Flores popped out ahead, and Sheppard reached for his missing sidearm. Realizing he was weaponless, the colonel ran full tilt at the Marine.

“Flores! Catch him!”

Hastily dropping his P-90, Flores grabbed the colonel around the waist, hoisting Sheppard over his shoulder. This earned him a knee to the chin, but Flores held on tight. After a second hit to the chin, Flores set his CO on his feet.

Sheppard backed away with murder in his eyes. “I said, don’t touch me!” Without giving Flores a chance to apologize, the colonel stumbled forward.

“What the hell, Meade? Does he not know he’s hurt?”

“I really don’t think he realizes a lot of things right now. Let’s get him to Doc Black.”

“Creighton to Meade.”

“Meade. Go ahead.”

“Atlantis wants to send a team through.”

Sighing, Meade rubbed his temple. _Of course they do._ “Tell them negative. We need to see if he’s been compromised. Give us an hour.”

“Copy that. Creighton out.”

Resuming his pace, Meade signaled Flores. “Tell the doctor we may have some trouble.”

“I’m sure once she knows it’s the colonel–”

“This is sloppy positioning, Sergeant. I could see you a mile away. We’ll be talking about this later.” Sheppard stumbled into Sergeant Campbell. He gave a muffled grunt when the man caught his flailing CO. “I’m fine.”

“Lieutenant?” Campbell was at a loss. “His arms... they’re–”

“I know,” Meade said, shaking his head. “They’re broken. I think the right one’s been broken twice.”

“Damn,” the sergeant sighed. “He’s not gonna settle for Myra, is he?”

Meade shrugged. “Unless Doctor Black could turn into Doctor McKay, I really don’t think so.” It was no secret the surly scientist was able to calm Sheppard through the worst of his injuries, guilt, and melancholy quicker than anyone else.

Colonel Sheppard continued to the med tent without assistance; no one wanted to touch him due to his injuries. When he staggered into Myra Black, Sheppard gave a faltering smile. “Hey, Doc. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. I think I need to lie down.” As if the strings were cut, the colonel collapsed immediately.

“Oh my God!” Black exclaimed as she reached out to catch Sheppard. Meade was there first, scooping his CO up into his arms. “Thank you, Lawrence. Please bring him over the exam bed.”

“He gonna be okay, Doc?” Meade asked, trying not to notice the small crowd outside the tent. He knew he wasn’t the only one who dreaded a replacement officer. _Shep needs to stay out of the infirmary,_ he thought sadly. Too many people wanted the guy for his genetic makeup.

The doctor checked Sheppard’s vitals quickly. “He’s got a mild case of hypothermia. Kersh, I need blankets.” Turning back to Meade, she frowned. “As far as I can tell, the broken arms are the worst of his injuries. The head wound is giving me some worries, though. After I clean him up, I’ll know more soon.”

As the lieutenant nodded, the nurse let out a gasp of surprise. Sheppard had wrapped a hand around her wrist. He stared sightlessly at her mumbling in Ancient and stilted Berber. “I don’t understand, Colonel.”

“He said the pain is bearable. Not to give him anything,” Meade supplied.

Black held a scanner over Sheppard’s body, amazed the man was alive. Nurse Kersh cut away the torn shirt, revealing the black and purple bruise covering the colonel’s torso. “Is that a boot print?”

“I believe so,” the doctor murmured. The scan showed multiple broken ribs and slight internal bleeding. “I’m going to splint his arms. You’re gonna need to keep him still for me, Lawrence.”

“Got it, Doc.” Meade braced himself; he knew the colonel was unpredictable when he felt threatened. Flores practically sat on the prone man’s legs as Sheppard struggled, screamed, kicked, and cursed until his pain finally got the best of him. With a sigh, he fell unconscious.

“Thank God,” Myra breathed. “All right, Lieutenant, we can take it from here. Thanks, guys.”

Backing out of the tent, Meade and Flores sighed with relief too. The rest of the soldiers gathered around them, questions in their eyes. Clipping his gun to his vest, the lieutenant cleared his throat. “Okay, Colonel Sheppard’s being taken care of right now. He should be fine.” Meade winced at his tone; he barely believed the words himself. “’Peters, Flores. I need a stretcher, and a couple blankets.”

“We’ve got a basket, Lieutenant. Better straps,” Campbell suggested. “We’ll get it ready for transport.”

Nodding, Meade went back inside the tent. Now that his CO was still, he could really see the man. The doctor began cleaning the leaves and dirt from Sheppard’s hair and face. “What’s the verdict, Doc?”

Without looking up, she shook her head. “This head wound is bad. Really bad. He needs to get to Atlantis yesterday.” Kersh returned with bandages and more supplies. “Thanks. Let me get this cleaned and wrapped; I can’t do anything else for him here.”

As they wrapped Sheppard in several blankets, the colonel woke again. “Where’s McKay? If you killed him, I need to see his body.”

Meade didn’t like the tone of voice the colonel used. “Sir, Doctor McKay is fine. You’re going to see him in a few–”

“Liar! I saw the jacket. I saw him go down. Where is he?” Somehow, Sheppard’s voice was lost and demanding all at once. “I won’t tell you anything. And I won’t activate that chair.”

Blinking, the lieutenant knew why Sheppard was possibly captured. When the last buckle was attached, Meade grabbed the fourth corner of the basket stretcher. “Let’s go.” He set the pace as quickly as possible, hoping they wouldn’t jostle the colonel too badly.

They reached the ‘gate, and Campbell relinquished his corner to Creighton. Meade nodded to Peters and Flores as they let go. “I need as many people watching this ‘gate. I know the colonel won’t lead anyone here, but I need to be sure. Creighton and I will get Colonel Sheppard home safe.”

“You got it, sir. Good luck.” Campbell dialed the ‘gate while Meade fished out his GDO.

“I’m not dumb, you know,” the colonel snorted from below. “I do know how to throw the bad guys off my trail.”

“Wasn’t sayin’ you didn’t, sir. Just procedure.”

“I know the procedure, Lieutenant. I wrote the damn thing.”

Meade resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, looked over his shoulder at his CO. “Then why are you arguing with me? I refuse to argue with an injured person. Sir.”

To Meade’s surprise, the colonel smiled and closed his eyes. “You’ve been hanging out with the scientists too long.”

“Agreed, sir.”

oOoOoOo

On the other side of the event horizon, Meade was greeted by the senior staff of Atlantis. The colonel became agitated as he saw McKay come down the stairs.

“Lieutenant Meade,” Colonel Carter greeted. “I see you brought us a lost package. Doctor Keller is on her way up.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he replied. 

On cue, Keller appeared and knelt by the stretcher, fighting Sheppard’s flailing arms. “Lieutenant? Can you get him on the gurney?”

The two soldiers lifted their CO onto the gurney. Meade watched them jog away, toward the infirmary. The colonel’s team followed closely behind, happy their friend was home, worried about what this capture had done to the man.

“Meade? Why don’t you tell me what happened.” Sam Carter directed him to her office.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

oOoOoOo

When Meade finished, the first thing he did was stop at the infirmary.

“What do you mean he’s hypothermic and has a fever?” McKay demanded as he paced the full waiting area. “Can we see him?”

“He really needs to rest. But, of course, he wants to see you.”

The scientist didn’t even take the time to gloat; he merely stepped around her in to the trauma center of the infirmary.

As Meade turned to leave, Ronon caught his eye. The Satedan inclined his head, and Meade nodded back. The lieutenant had told Carter earlier he wished he could take credit for bringing the colonel home.

But Sheppard did that all by himself.

Meade made his way to the mess hall, hoping there were muffins to bring back to the Alpha site. Suddenly, his two-week assignment didn’t sound so bad.

OooOoOo

The end.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Lost and Found [podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/700116) by [librarychick_94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarychick_94/pseuds/librarychick_94)




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